


Here We Go Again

by MissTrafalgarMeyer



Category: Football RPF
Genre: 5+1 Things, Attempt at Humor, Benni is oblivious, Challenge Response, DraMats, Fluff, Julian Helps, M/M, Marco is so done with these two
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2018-12-26 01:15:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12048276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissTrafalgarMeyer/pseuds/MissTrafalgarMeyer
Summary: "Are you going to try to get them together?" Julian laughed. "Really, Reus? Basically the whole team has tried and failed.""It didn't work out just because I didn't try, Sweetheart." Marco blinked at the other. "But I need your help... Will you help me?".Or 5 times Marco tries to get Benni and Mats together + 1 time he get it!





	1. Don't be a DraMats

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MrEustass](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrEustass/gifts).



> For MrEustass because we made this strange challenge involving 5+1 things + Favorite Couple + Favorite Character. Well, that's my take on this! Waiting to see yours! ;D
> 
> This fic gets too much pages than I expect! It was supposed to be a quick thing, but I can't help myself! So I parted this in 6 chapters... Probably some of that chapters will be really short, but if it was an oneshot, that will be much more longer! 
> 
> Well, I hope you all enjoy it o/

"Another International Break," André said as he sat beside Marco. "Same drama."

Marco snorted and stared at the hotel's front door for the fifth time in less than 8 minutes. He was waiting in the hotel hall since 2 hours ago...? He was beginning to give up on his plan, but he took that thought out of his head. No chance that he would stay in that break suffering because of Mats and his eternal drama.

He turned his attention to Schürrle. "When does this team don't have drama?"

"At least I'm not directly affected by it." The other chuckled as Marco muttered a simple 'Lucky'.

"Well, this time, I intend not to be affected by it too." Marco looked back at the door and smiled at the incoming person. Finally. "I have a great plan and I need his help."

Marco stood up and headed toward the reception desk, completely ignoring Andre's laugh and ironic 'Good Luck.'

"Draxler! The guy I wanted to see!" He said when he got close enough.

"What do you want?" Julian murmured as he began to respond to the check-in form.

"Someone here is in a bad mood... Did you not have a good trip?" Draxler snorted something random and Marco decided it was not worth discussing. "Nevermind. Are you going to share a room with Benni? "

"Obviously."

"Not this time, handsome!" Reus smiled. "You're going to share a room with me!"

Julian stopped writing, sighed, and finally looked at Marco. "What the hell are you wanting to do?"

"Come on, Julian! Are you not tired of all 'Hömmels Drama'?" Before the other could respond, he continued. "Are you going to tell me that Benni doesn't dramatize everything that happens involving Mats and him? Come on, I can't be the one to suffer from it! "

The younger one sighed. "I wanted you to be the one to suffer from it."

"I'm glad I'm not the only one." The blonde muttered and then smiled. "How about stop suffering?"

"Are you going to try to get them together?" Julian laughed. "Really, Reus? Basically the whole team has tried and failed."

"It didn't work out just because I didn't try, Sweetheart." Marco blinked at the other. "But I need your help... Will you help me?"

xXx

"How long do you think it will take until the drama starts?" Julian asked as he dried his hair with a towel.

Marco stared at the other and then to his cellphone. "In 10 minutes... Mats already sent a message saying he's arriving, then it is, 10 minutes!"

"Hm, I'll bet in 8 minutes." The younger one picked up his cell phone and threw himself on the bed.

Reus shrugged, that doesn't matter. He glanced around, searching for his headset, which was on top of his suitcase, on the other side of the room. He sighed, measured his level of laziness at that moment and decided it wasn't worth it.

He heard Julian's soft laugh and turned to face him just in time to see a headset being thrown toward him.

"Be careful, it's my favorite." Julian smiled and turned his attention to his cell phone again.

"Thank you," he said as he put on the headphones and enjoyed the peace of not being Mats' roommate.

His peace didn't last more than 7 minutes. Someone was knocking fervently at the door, and Marco didn't even have to open to find out who it was.

He stared at Julian who simply shrugged and murmured, "It's your problem, not mine."

Marco snorted and took off the headphones, leaving them on the bed with his cell phone after looking at the time. "At least I got it right. 10 minutes, sweetheart!"

Jules laughed and turned his cell phone toward the blonde. "I'm sorry, Marco, but Benni started the drama two minutes ago."

He rolled his eyes and stood up, heading toward the door and opening it quietly just to see a desperate Mats.

"What is it?" Reus arched an eyebrow.

"I need to talk to you!" Mats said, too fast even for Marco.

"What?" Marco frowned. Mats looked like a pile of nerves and that made the other sigh. "Calm down, breathe and talk."

"Not here!" Mats glanced quickly at Julian, who seemed not to care less about the whole situation.

"Okay. Wait a minute." Marco went to his suitcase, picked up his headphone and threw it at Julian. "Be careful, it's my favorite."

Julian picked up the headphone and muttered a 'thank you' and 'Good Luck' that Marco barely heard because he was closing the room's door.

He walked towards the elevator and impressively Mats followed him silently all the way until they reached the top floor of the hotel, where it had two swimming pools, one for adults and one for children, and two jacuzzis.

Marco sat in a chair by the pool and propped his elbows on the table in front of him, then facing the pool. Oh, how he'd rather be there instead of listening to Mats' drama, but since he's such a good friend, he turned to face the other, who was sitting right in front of him.

"Benni and I are in the same room."

"Yeah, I know."

"How did this happen?!"

"I have no idea!" It was a lie, of course, but Mats didn't need to know that. "I checked in and said you would be my roommate, right after Julian checked in. There must have been some trouble in the meantime..."

"You think it was Julian?"

"What?" Marco raised an eyebrow. Did Mats really distrust Julian? "Draxler is the embodiment of Cinnamon Roll! And he would never do that to Benni... "

Mats arched an eyebrow and Marco sighed.

"I mean, he really likes Benni and..." Marco continued.

"What?" Mats didn't even try to suppress his jealousy.

"Whatever! I'm sure Draxler would not do that!" Marco rolled his eyes.

Mats stared at the other for a few minutes, and maybe Marco was a bit embarrassed.

"That's not the biggest problem," Mats sighed.

"And what's the biggest problem?"

"There's only one bed... Double bed..."

Marco laughed. Obviously he knew that! It was he who begged to the receptionist to leave Benni and Mats in a couple's room and say that it was the only room available. Lucky for him that the receptionist is a fan of the team and all she asked for was a photo and an autographed shirt.

"That's not funny, Reus!" Mats snorted. "How the hell am I going to sleep in the same bed as him?"

"For God's sake, Mats!" The blond raised an eyebrow. "It's just sleep on his side! Sleep! You don't have to do so much drama for it!"

"Ah, it's very easy to say isn't? I wanted to see if you will go to sleep on Mario's side!" Mats said and Marco rolled his eyes. "Okay, sorry, I didn't want to mention Mario... I know you--"

"Whatever, Hummels!" Marco interrupted and folded his arms. "If there's such a problem for you, I guarantee Julian will not mind switching rooms with you. I think it's been a while since he got so close to Benni!"

Okay, he played low. Not that he regrets of course. Mats wasn't going to ruin his plan that easy.

"No, you don't have to bother Draxler," Mats murmured after two long minutes. "I will survive."

"Oh, I know you will survive." The blonde smiled. "You know, if you even want to make a dividing line between you guys with a sheet, you can!" He paused for a moment, frowned and continued. "Nope. Forget it. That would be very childish, so face it, Hummels!"

"You're right!" The other muttered, and Marco suppressed the urge to say 'Of course I am.' "I'll go back there, lie down on that bed and sleep like I'm home! I will not even care that Benedikt is on my side!"

Marco nodded, slightly impressed, as Mats rose and headed toward the elevator, determined.

"I'm proud of you, Mats!" Marco shouted before the other disappeared completely from his view.

Marco laughed with himself. Mats would not last for half an hour in the same bed as Benedikt, and if the universe decided to cooperate, which Marco really hoped would happen, Benni would notice Mats' strange behavior and make the right conclusions, putting an end to all that tension between them.

He spent a few moments enjoying the peace before returning to his room.

Julian didn't even divert the attention of his cell phone when he entered, but when he sat on the bed and sighed, the younger asked:

"What's up? How was it?"

"Everything is going wonderfully well!"

"Really?" Julian laughed.

"Get ready to see the happiest couple in the world tomorrow, Draxler!" Marco smiled. "And all thanks to me!"

"Well, let's see then," Julian murmured.


	2. Always put your phone in silent mode.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, Honeys *~*
> 
> New chapter in a short period of time! That's new for me haha'
> 
> Well, thank you for all the kudos, comments and bookmarks, I appreciate so much <3
> 
> Enjoy the chapter /o/
> 
> Ps: Everything in _Italic_ is _Benedikt_ and everything in **Bold** is **Mats**

"I'm still waiting to see the happiest couple in the world." Julian laughed as he ran around the training camp with Marco at his side.

Reus snorted. Okay, his plan didn't work out at all, and the only difference he'd seen from yesterday to today was that Mats was so tired he didn't even have the strength to do drama, but there was no need for Draxler to rub the loss right in his face.

He had an idea of where everything had gone wrong, based, of course, on Benedikt's tiredness.

He completely disregarded Höwedes' level of despair, which probably spent the night dramatizing the fact that he was in the same bed as his crush, as well as Mats. In the end, the two focused on their own drama and forgot about the other by their side and obviously their sleep. Wonderful.

"I was counting on Benedikt's perception, but he must be as dramatic as Mats," Marco murmured.

"Worse than that." Draxler smiled. "He's completely oblivous."

Marco murmured a 'damn!' And thought about what he would do now, because giving up wasn't an option. Of course Mats and Benni would still share a room, but they needed something more to start a damn relationship.

He looked around and saw Müller coming out of the dressing room quietly and got an idea.

"Draxler, I know what we're gonna do today!" Marco stopped and held Julian.

"An almost impossible but giant thing, that everyone will think we're too young to do, but we'll make it, and that at the last minute it will disappear before Thomas busted us?" Julian said quickly.

"What?! No!" The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you watch--? Nevermind! I don't wanna know! Just come..."

Marco pulled Julian toward the locker room, completely ignoring the other's protest.

xXx

"Aren't we too young to die?" Draxler murmured.

Reus rolled his eyes. "They will never distrust us and I'm sure Benedikt wouldn't kill you if he knows! No drama, Sweetheart."

"I think we're pushing the limits," the younger one warned.

"They're driving us crazy. That's passing the limits." The other rolled his eyes. "Now, be still, they must be coming!"

Less than two minutes later, the door to the locker room opened and Benedikt walked in with Mats. Automatically, Marco and Julian shrank by the side door that connected the locker room with the hallway that led to the parking lot.

"What do we do now?" A voice came from behind them and Marco stopped breathing momentarily, while Julian brought both hands to his mouth to stop himself from screaming.

Marco turned slowly and sighed in relief when he saw Neuer was there. He put a hand on Julian's shoulder, which seemed to relax a bit.

Manuel was there because he was the only one who managed to persuade Mats and Benni to stay late to help him train while everyone else went to the hotel. And while Julian and Marco were putting the plan into practice.

"Now we wait," Marco murmured, his hand still on Julian's shoulder.

"What's that plan of yours?" Manuel raised an eyebrow.

"Marco's plan, get me out of this," Julian murmured, looking through the door's crevice to make sure Benni and Mats were there.

"You helped, so the plan is ours!" Marco rolled his eyes. "We took their clothes off the locker room."

"You guys what?" Manuel started to laugh and Marco murmured a 'Shhhh' because all they didn't need was Benni and Mats find out they were there. "Seriously, what do you mean by that?"

"Marco believes that if they spend enough time in a towel the desire will be evident and they will end up making out." Julian said, bored.

"You told him that Benni is completely oblivious right?" Manuel asked and then turned to Marco. "You know, right?"

"Yeah, but no matter how Benni is oblivious." Marco rolled his eyes. "No one can ignore Mats' abs."

Julian and Manuel looked at Marco who grimaced, realizing what he had just said.

"Well... Apparently someone here can't ignore Mats' abs." Julian laughed.

"Don't be jealous, Sweetheart." Marco laughed. "Your abs are amazing too."

Julian snorted. Undoubtedly, Marco was the most irritating human being he had ever known.

"Okay, but..." Manuel broke the silence that had settled between the trio. "What keeps they from wearing the same outfit they were in for training?"

Marco and Julian turned their heads so quickly that Manuel feared they might have some pain in the neck after.

"Damn," Marco murmured and faced Julian. "Somebody has to go get the training outfit."

"Are you thinking I'll go there?" Julian laughed. "No way, Reus!"

"Neuer?" Marco stared at the older man, who shook his head. "Okay! I will!"

"Quick, before they get out of the shower," the younger one punctuated.

"Shut up." Reus gently pushed Julian and open the door as quietly as he could.

He indicated the door to Julian, who shook his head and held it. He watched the locker room and thanked the heavens for Benni and Mats had left their clothes on a bench relatively far from the showers. He picked up their clothes quickly and left the locker room. Julian quietly knocked on the door, leaving a crack.

"I almost had a heart attack," Marco murmured.

"If it was just you." Julian snorted and punched Marco lightly.

"Cool, what do we do with it now?" Marco left the clothes on the floor between Julian and him.

"I'll find a way." Manuel took the clothes. "Good luck there for you, because I'm out."

"Take me with you..." Julian murmured as Marco rolled his eyes.

Marco sighed and looked at the dressing room again, the voices of Benedikt and Mats were getting closer, so he closed the door softly and leaned against it. Julian frowned slightly and did the same.

Julian pulled Marco's arm lightly and approached, whispering at once. "Do you think we'll hear them?"

"Sure, they'll be desperate and probably screaming."

Marco was right. Three minutes later the voices of Benedikt and Mats were very audible.

**"I don't find my clothes! Do you have any extras?"**

_"Uh, I'm not finding mine either...?"_

**"Shit. Where are our training clothes at least?"**

_"I left mine on the bench..."_

**"Me too! And they just disappeared!"**

Silence. Marco arched an eyebrow at Julian, who stared back at him.

"Why are they silent?" Julian asked so softly that Marco barely heard.

"I think they've noticed the whole situation." Marco smiled. "They will start to make out!"

**"Uh, it must have been Thomas!"**

_"Do you think Thomas came here, took our clothes, left and we didn't hear anything?"_

**"Uh, yes! ... I mean, Manuel asked us to train with him until late and out of nowhere our clothes disappear??"**

_"Manuel wouldn't do that to me."_

**"Well, apparently he did."**

Silence again and Marco prayed that the two would finally make out, but the disappointment filled his being when he heard Mats' voice again:

**"And what do we do now?"**

_"We call someone."_

"Ha, suckers!" Marco laughed. "We got your cell phones!"

"We got it?" Julian arched an eyebrow.

"I got Mats'... You didn't get Benni's...?"

"Uh, nope...?"

**"I'm not finding my cell phone!"**

_"It's good that I found mine!"_

"Damn it, Draxler!!" Marco whispered. "I thought getting the cell phone was implied when I told you about the plan!"

"You said, _'Get Benni's clothes'_ not _'Get the cell phone and any other means of communication from Benni'_ " Julian snorted.

**"Who are you calling?"**

_"Julian. He will save us."_

Marco grunted. "Now they're going to call you, you can't say you don't want to help and--"

_ 'We were staying in Paris. To get away from your parents and I thought, Wow--' _

Marco was interrupted by the ringing of Julian's cell phone echoing in the hallway.

"Shit, Draxler!" Marco put his hands to his face. "Why didn't you put it in the silent mode??"

"I didn't know he was going to call!" Julian didn't seem to know what to do with the phone, his face was completely flushed.

"Shit." Marco took the cell phone from Julian's hands before the boy did anything that made things worse.

**"Wait. Isn’t that the ringtone of Julian's cell phone? "**

_"It is..."_

**"So he did it to us?"**

_"Obviously not, Hummels! He would never do that to me!"_

"Benni is going to kill me!" Julian was so desperate that Marco came to pity the boy.

Marco sighed. They couldn't be caught now, there must be some way to get rid of it. And it was there that he had an idea that depended only on Benedikt's confidence in Julian, and Marco knew that this confidence went beyond the distance between Turin and Paris.

"Draxler," Marco placed the cell phone in Julian's hand and with one hand pulled the younger man's face toward him so that he would get all the attention of the world. "Put the cell phone in that bench and let's get out of here."

"Okay," Julian said decisively.

**"I don't trust Draxler!"**

_"But I trust! And you will not talk about him like that!"_

Marco smiled when he saw the parking lot and quickly leaned against the wall beside the corridor. He looked away, expecting to see Draxler and his eyes widened when he realized the other wasn't there.

He looked down the hall, just in time to see Julian running as quietly as he could.

**"What are you doing?"**

_"He must have forgotten his cell phone, so I'll get it."_

Julian froze in place and turned back, watching the door open. He turned his attention to Marco who whispered a "HIDE" and pointed to a dumpster next to a bench a little ahead the bench where the cell phone was.

Luckily, Julian managed to hide by the side of the bin before Benedikt fully opened the door and Marco leaned against the wall again.

He heard Benedikt's footsteps and swallowed dry. Julian must have been dying by now, and he couldn't help but feel guilty about it. The music stopped and Marco held his breath, begging the heavens so that Höwedes would just return to the locker room.

_"See? He forgot his cell phone."_

The next thing Reus heard was the door closing and he felt the air come out of his lungs slowly. He looked back down the corridor and saw Draxler huddled and frozen next to the bin. It would be a comical scene if it didn't seem so tragic.

Marco sighed and called Julian calmly. The other looked momentarily at the blond, not knowing what to do, but a few moments later Julian ran toward Marco, leaning in the wall at his side and taking a deep breath.

"I'll never do such a thing again!" Julian said after two minutes of silence.

Marco opened his mouth to respond, but his cell phone began to vibrate and he rolled his eyes when he saw Benedikt's name on the screen.

"See? I leave my cell phone on the silent mode." Marco grabbed Julian's arm and pulled the younger. "Come."

When they reached a safe distance, Marco picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Marco said.

_"Marco? Are you with Julian?"_

"Uh, yes." Marco raised an eyebrow and looked at Julian. "And he's freaking out because he lost his cell phone and I don't know how to handle it."

_"Can I talk to him?"_

Marco rolled his eyes and handed the cell phone to Julian, who opened his eyes wide.

"Hello...?" Julian's voice was hesitant.

_"I found your cell phone."_

"Oh really?! Thank you Benni!! You saved my life!"

_"Yeah, I know."_

Marco could hear Benedikt's soft laugh and smiled at Julian, putting a hand on the younger man's shoulder to try to calm him. Apparently everything was fine.

_"Now I need your help, Jules."_

"Uh, what happened?" Julian managed to feign curiosity in his voice so perfectly that Marco was proud.

_"Some idiot stole my clothes and Mats' too... Can you come back in the locker room with extra clothes? It could be yours if you can't find ours."_

"Oh, of course!" Julian said, laughing a little. "The break barely starts and the pranks are already being made."

_"Isn't? Well, we're waiting here!"_

"Okay, I'll be there soon. Bye." Julian hung up the phone and returned it to Marco.

"Wow, that was close, right?" Marco smiled.

"We will not do it again..." Julian put his hands to his temples and massaged them lightly.

"Do what?" The blond asked innocently.

"Risking ourselves that way!" The younger one said angrily and folded his arms.

Marco sighed. "Okay, we're not going to do this anymore."

"Promise?"

Reus put one hand on the other's hair and messed them lightly. "Promise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why I'm so sure Marco will break his promise...? :P


	3. Okay, I get it. Benni is Oblivious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Honeys *~*
> 
> It's been a while, isn't? haha' sorry sorry.
> 
> So as an apology you all got a new chapter /o/ And a huge chapter, full of things that wasn't planned at all, they just happened ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> So Enjoy ;)

Marco sighed. It had been a day since the episode in the locker room and he took advantage of that time for two things:

**First:** Calm down Julian, who was desperate thinking that Benedikt would find out everything and be deeply disappointed with him... Not that Marco thought this could happen, because they pretended innocence very well when they went to deliver Benni and Mats's clothes, but it was not good to live with a paranoid Julian and he needed the other if he wanted to continue the plan.

**Second:** Arrange a new plan. He came to this International Break with a goal and only one plan, completely disregarding the 'Benni' factor that was basically the main flaw in his plans. So he decided he needed a plan focused on Höwedes.

Marco looked to his side, only to see Julian lying down, holding his cell phone above his head. Looked uncomfortable, but the blond decided to ignore it.

"Julian." He called the other, who was startled and almost dropped his cell phone on his face.

"What is it?" The younger one turned toward Marco and pouts when he saw the other laughing.

"Are you okay?"

Julian raised an eyebrow. Marco was being very nice to him in this last day, always asking how he was and trying to calm him down when he was in some kind of paranoid crisis. At first it seemed a good thing coming from Marco, but now it was scary.

"Seriously, Marco, what do you want?" Julian sat on the bed and stared at the other, already beginning to be annoyed by all this apparent 'concern'

The blond smiled. "I want to know if you're ready for the next plan."

Draxler sighed and raised a hand to his temples, gently massaging them. Of course that was Marco's only concern... A meaningless plan that would probably go awry and end his and Benni's relationship.

"No, but you're going to talk anyway, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I will." Marco laughed, got up and searched briefly for his laptop, coming back to his bed after. He indicated the space beside him to Julian with his hand and turned his attention to the laptop.

The brunet rolled his eyes, but went to Marco's bed. "Okay, what are you planning?"

"We're going to give Höwedes gifts!" Marco smiled.

"In Mats' name?" Julian frowned, but shrugged immediately. At least on this plan he would not have to take any risks.

"Not exactly." He arched an eyebrow. "Mats is going to have a heart attack if he knows that someone used his name on a gift to Benni and he will not even have to think hard to find out that it was me and come to discuss with me with a boring speech about 'I thought we were friends'"

"It's plausible," Julian murmured. "But when will you understand that Benni is oblivious?"

"That's why I'll leave the initials." The blond rolled his eyes. "Even a person like Benni will understand that no one else on the team has MJH initials, just Mats!"

"And Mats will not think the same thing?" Julian arched an eyebrow. "I mean, he'll know it's him and that someone incriminated him."

Marco stared at the other. As annoying as it is, Julian was right. He leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes, thinking about a solution. Three minutes later he opened his eyes and stared back at Julian.

"We take out the H." The blond said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and sighed when he saw Julian frown. "Without the H, Mats will believe that it was all a mistake that ended up being really good to him and Benni will not think about anyone else since no one on the team has MJ initials, unless of course our dear Mats Julian Hummels."

"Alright."

"Alright?" Marco raised an eyebrow. His plan is great and all that Draxler says is a 'alright.' that he can swear it was ironic...? "Do you think it will not work?"

"I think Benni will impress you." Julian smirked and turned his attention to his cell phone.

Marco snorted a 'Whatever' and started researching some gift to give to Höwedes.

Seven minutes later he was already frustrated. The truth is he had no idea what the hell Benedikt would like to receive and what Mats would give to the 'love of his life'. Everything he found seemed more like something himself would like to receive and one thing he is sure, Benedikt and he are **very** different!

After his fifth sigh, Julian faced the laptop again and rolled his eyes. "Give it to me!"

Julian barely finished the sentence and Marco had already placed the laptop in his lap, watching quietly while Julian was researching and buying the ideal gift for Benedikt.

xXx

"I still can't believe you paid for it with Mats' credit card." Julian leaned against a cabinet near where Marco was. "I can't believe you have Mats's credit card!?"

"I can't believe you bought a bear for Benni." Marco murmured as he opened Benedikt's bag to put the bear inside.

They were in the locker room while the rest of the team was on training and as much as Julian was nervous, he knew Benni would not come to the locker room before the training was over.

"He had a bear like that, but he ended up losing it while moving to Turin. It's very important to him and he spent days complaining about the loss." Draxler smiled. "But seriously, the credit card? Mats really let you keep his credit card?"

"It's not like he knows I have his credit card." Marco grimaced as he adjusted the card for the third time. "Was it a good idea to put this card on?"

"Probably not since it was your idea." Julian rolled his eyes and placed a hand on Marco's shoulder. "Can we go now?"

Marco adjusted the card two more times before closing the bag and leaving the locker room next to Julian.

xXx

Marco spent the entire training radiant, sure that his plan was infallible, which in a way made Julian feel a little bit bad. Not that he wanted the plan to go wrong, much to the oppose, he wanted Benedikt to be very happy with Mats, but he had this feeling that Benni need things to be more obvious.

Then when the training was over and everyone went to the locker room, Julian could not help feeling nervous. He sat on a bench relatively far from Benedikt and picked up his cell phone, ignoring Marco's animated whistling.

"What did you do?" Manuel asked as he sat next to Julian, who stifled a jump.

Manuel should stop being so sneaky.

"What makes you think we did something?" Julian smiled, trying to sound as innocent as possible, but of course Manuel would not believe on him.

The older man rolled his eyes. "You're nervous and looking at your cell phone as if it's the most interesting thing in the world." Then he faced Marco. "And he's humming... What? The Chainsmokers?"

"Draxler's fault," Marco interrupted. "It's his alarm."

"Ignore him." Julian rolled his eyes. "We bought him a bear... Like Newt."

"Newt? The one Benni spend days complaining about the loss? And then wanted to kill everyone involved on it?" Neuer arched an eyebrow.

"Who name a bear as Newt?" Reus murmured as he frowned.

"Exactly this Newt!" He smiled, ignoring Marco's remark.

"So you put Mats's name on the card...?"

"Yeah..."

"Yeah...?"

"You'll see..." Julian pointed to Benni who had just opened his bag.

Höwedes stared at the package with one arched eyebrow and picked up the card, turning red immediately.

"What did you write?" Manuel murmured, staring at Marco, who smiled, and Julian, who sighed shaking his head.

" _Roses are Red. Violets are Blue. Sugar is sweet and so are you._ " Thomas read over Benedikt's shoulder and stared at Mats. "That's cute!"

"Thomas!" Benni scolded the other and slipped the card into the bag again.

"Who sent it?" Schürrle asked from across the locker room, smiling at Marco.

"- M. J." Thomas answered and all eyes turned to Mats.

"At least everyone noticed who sent the gift." Reus murmured.

"The question is, did Benni notice?" Manu stared at the two of them. Julian shrugged.

They stared back at Benni who was staring at his bag, clearly thinking whether to open the package that was there or not. He stared at Mats for a moment before picking up the package.

Julian sighed.

Almost at the end of training Marco had insisted on wrapping the present, but he had poor skills at it and Julian really didn't want to even get close to the present on fear of being caught. In the end the result was terrible and Marco spent the rest of the training complaining about Draxler's pointless panic attacks.

"It was a good decision to had it wrapped!" Marco smiled as Julian rolled his eyes, visibly tired of discussing this subject.

He turned to face Benni who finally found the courage to rip the gift paper.

Höwedes froze when he saw the bear and half a minute later muttered a muffled 'Newt', still very shocked. Three minutes later he seemed to come back to reality, put the bear back in his bag and looked at Mats smiling.

"He got it. I don't believe it..." Julian murmured, bringing a hand to his mouth.

"Apparently someone should congratulate me and say I'm a genius." Marco leaned against the cabinets and folded his arms, a victorious smile on his face.

"Congra--"

"Julian, Manu!" Benedikt interrupted Julian, who turned to the other just in time to see him kneel between Manuel and him. "Thanks for the bear, he's so much like Newt!"

And then Manuel and he were being hugged by a more than happy Benni.

He didn't even have to face Marco to know that the blond was furious and ready to hit his forehead in the cabinet.

"I hope you didn't do it because I complained too much about it."

"We--"

"We did it to see you happy!" Manuel interrupted Julian, who stared up at him with an arched eyebrow.

"For God's sake!" Marco snorted getting Benedikt's attention. "How did you make this conclusion?"

"Uh, M.J... Manuel and Julian...?"

"What about the card?"

"Neuer! Always joking with me." Benni turned to Manuel. "I think that a huge amount of time with Thomas made you be like this!"

"Of course..." Manu smiled and looked at Reus. "A huge amount of time with Thomas."

Marco mumbled something random and leaned against the cabinet, visibly irritated. Julian sighed and stood up going toward the other.

"I said Benni would surprise you." He glared at Marco who snorted.

"If you knew that, why didn't you tell me?" Reus looked at Benedikt who was now with Manuel and Thomas on the other side of the locker room. And Mats was far from being seen.

"I didn't know he would think so, okay?" He rolled his eyes. Did Reus really think he did it on purpose? "What I can tell you for sure is that Benni is completely oblivious and his self-esteem is very low, so it never crossed his mind that someone like Mats might somehow like someone like him."

"Why not?" The blond rolled his eyes. "You can see how Mats is so in love with him and let's face it, Benni isn't that bad."

Julian snorted. Benedikt is an incredible person, if only he could see himself the way others see him, everything would be so much better.

He sighed and decided to ignore Marco.

"Benni was always oblivious." He folded his arms. "Do you know how he and Neuer started dating?"

With Marco's denial, he continued. "Neuer was as direct as possible with him! Like, he went straight to the point! After a Revier Derby where Manu was particularly amazing, he told Benni: _'I love you'_ and when Benni thought it was only as a friend, Neuer rephrased: _'No, I love you more than that! Date me?'_ "

Marco frowned, probably thinking of something... Planning his next steps. Julian rolled his eyes and decided to continue the story.

"When they were together Benni was the most self-assured and happy person you could meet, but then Neuer left and that started to change."

"What? Why?"

"Benni thought it was his fault."

"What?"

"Manuel left."

Marco raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't make sense, Draxler!"

"That's what I tell him, but do you really think he believes me?" He snorted and looked down at the floor. "But that's my fault too, I left as well..."

"Okay, I can disagree with that." Marco placed a hand on Julian's shoulder, which faced the other visibly confused. "Mats was still in Dortmund by the time you left and he always worries about Höwedes, you know... So they talked a lot about it and Mats always told me anything that involved Benni and him, so he told me yes, Höwedes was sad with your departure, but he understood your motivations and was glad you had at least warned him."

Julian smiled a little bit and then frowned. "You have so much information about Benni... How did you not know that? Especially, how didn't you expect the plan to go wrong?"

Reus rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I have a lot of information, but guess what?? My source is Mats Hummels! Do you really think he's trustworthy?"

The dark-haired man smiled a little. "Yeah... Hummels isn't the best source." Then he frowned. "So I guess you don't know that Benni actually gave up on Mats, 'cause he has no chance and all that stuff... But we can see that he still likes Hummels"

The other raised an eyebrow. "What the--? Why?"

"This is Mats's fault to tell you the truth." He shrugged. "Hummels made the whole transfer to Bayern secretly."

"Yeah, I know, I was angry for a few months."

"Yeah, Benni was devastated!" Julian snorted as Marco frowned. "You know the situation with Neuer?? It was the same thing! So he accepted that he would never have a chance with Mats and kinda gave up."

There was a silence between them as the blond man digested all the information the other had said.

"What an idiot..." Marco murmured, but then he smiled. "Julian, I think I know what we have to do now! We need--"

Marco stopped talking for a moment and Julian wondered what had happened, and then he realized that Reus wasn't looking at him, but at a point behind him.

He turned slowly and saw Mats behind him, staring at him visibly angry.

"Uh... Mats?" Julian arched an eyebrow.

"Draxler," Mats replied coldly.

"Is there something wrong, Mats?" Marco asked promptly putting himself between Julian and Mats.

Draxler raised an eyebrow. What the fu--? Was Marco really taking a defensive stance against **Mats**? He snorted. It's not like he doesn't know how to defend himself! And especially, it's not as if Mats was a threat. Right?

"I wanted to talk to you," Mats said simply. "Alone."

Marco sighed and turned to Julian. "Uh, I need to go... I will meet you in the bedroom to finish our conversation."

"Sure," Julian murmured as Marco smiled a little before following Mats.

He watched them walk away and could not help but notice the tension on Marco's shoulders. Mats looked very hostile when he spoke to him and Draxler couldn't help but wonder if Mats had discovered the plan... Maybe all the plans! So he would tell Benedikt that would be rather disappointed with Julian and—

"Jules!" Benni's excited voice took him out of his thoughts. "Let's eat something? I pay!"

He smiled. Benni was so happy! So he decided to forget the panic attack and enjoy the time he would have with the other.

Marco would find a way to fool Mats. He was sure of that.

xXx

 It all seemed rather familiar to Marco at the moment. The sun, the wind and the uncontrollable urge to take a dip in the pool instead of dealing with Mats' dramas...

Unfortunately he couldn't be such a bad friend, so he decided that any of these days he would drag Draxler to take a dip with him... The brunet seems this kind of person who loves sunny days and pools.

"What just happened?" Mats spoke up and caught Marco's gaze almost instantly.

"Uh?" Marco raised an eyebrow.

"Draxler and Neuer?" Mats almost screamed. "And a damn bear looking like Newt! I should have thought of that before!"

"What the fuck?" Marco murmured, not quite understanding why there was so much hatred in Hummels' heart.

"Benni spent weeks complaining and missing Newt, why the hell didn't I think about giving the bear to him?" Mats crossed his arms. "And now Draxler gets all the love!"

Marco sighed. This conversation involving Julian again?

"That's all his fault!"

Marco put a hand on his temples, massaging them lightly. "Mats, I think you're overreacting a bit..."

Mats' terrified look made the other shut up.

"Don't you see?" Before Marco could respond, Hummels continued. "No, it's okay... It took me a while to figure it out, too."

Marco ran a hand through his hair. Here comes another Mats' crazy theory, and worse, involving Julian... He sighed and even not wanting, said:

"Figure out what, Mats?"

"Julian is behind all this."

The blonde choked and began to cough wildly. Soon Mats was at his side, trying to help him.

Shit. Mats had figured out everything! Or at least Julian's minimal participation... And incredibly he'd ignored Reus' entire role in the whole plan... But before Marco could celebrate that, he had to find a way to get Julian out of it.

So before he think of an efficient way to do this, he needs more information.

He pulled himself together as best he could and soon Mats was sitting across the table again.

"What? How can you be so sure?" Marco asked, his voice coming out a little hoarse from the cough. He frowned. Well he could have a glass of water now.

"Look." Mats rolled his eyes. "I looked up at the website and this hotel has other rooms available and, most importantly, they are not double rooms! The comments on the service are exceptional, so someone set this up for sure."

Marco tilted his head slightly to the side, frowning. He didn't think Mats was going to search. There was no way out of this, so he simply accepted defeat in that regard.

"Okay, someone set it up for you," he said quietly. "Could have been Thomas..."

"I did my research and I'm sure it wasn't Thomas or any other prankster on the team!"

How could he be so sure? Marco put a hand on his chin, calculating his next step... He frowned again. He shouldn't calculate anything here. At least not yet. Mats still had things to say, he could feel it.

"So...?"

"So?" Mats raised an eyebrow. "And all sudden you are sharing a room with Draxler while I share a double bed with Benni...? Doesn't that sound strange to you?"

"Yes but..."

"And it's amazing how Draxler's cell phone was in the locker room when our clothes disappeared. Have you been with him since the training was over?" Before Marco could respond, Mats continued. "See? He doesn't have an alibi! And now he comes and buys a damn Newt-like bear, and Benni is more than happy with him!"

Mats snorted and crossed his arms, furious.

Marco stared at the other, analyzing the situation and mentally screaming at Julian for not having put the damn cell phone on the silent mode. It didn't help much. He could not find a solution to this problem. He needed more time to think, which he definitely didn't have.

He sighed. Time to improvise.

"Let's just say I believe you..." Marco said calmly. "Why would Julian do that?"

"To prove Benni that I am an idiot and that he is better than me, isn't obvious?" Hummels rolled his eyes.

Reus's mouth dropped in shock. Did Mats just based all his theories on jealousy? Seriously? Amazing.

"I really wanted to believe you, you have no idea!" The blond murmured.

"But...?" Mats snorted.

"But that doesn't make sense!" Marco tapped the table gently.

"Why not?" Hummels raised his voice a little.

"Because Julian doesn't think about Benni like that!" He sighed. "How could you don't understand that?"

"How can you be so sure?"

The blond raised an eyebrow. How is he so sure? No, that wasn't the right question. The right question is: How can he convince a visibly jealous Mats Hummels to accept the truth?

"I'm just sure, okay?" Marco snorted and folded his arms.

He was frustrated. He couldn't think of anything to say or even how to make Mats stop with this nonsense mistrust over Julian. It's so obvious that Benni treats Julian as a son and Julian is more than happy being that!

He sighed. Lose his temper wouldn't help him in that situation. He just needed to think a little about something convincing... Convincing enough to end up Hummels' paranoia and not get in the way of the next plan...

Taking a deep breath for a second, Reus felt his creativity coming back... Maybe if he--

"Oh my God, Reus!" Mats' half-shriek put an end to whatever idea Marco might be forming. "I can't believe!"

He rolled his eyes, it's not as if Mats believed in much things. "In what?"

"You and Julian!!"

Marco's eyes widened automatically. Did Mats finally notice his involvement in all this? Damn, now he would need a much more convincing excuse and--

"Are dating!" Mats concluded.

Marco froze. What the fuck? Where did Mats get that idea from? Amidst his loss of words, he still managed to murmur "No..."

"No need to hide it from me, Marco, I'm your best friend and I will not judge you for it!" Mats smiled sympathetically. "Actually, I'm glad you're overcoming Mario and..."

He stopped listening to what Mats was saying and focused on getting out of his shock. He needed to think! But unfortunately a simple question didn't leave his mind and before he could stop himself, he was already murmuring.

"How...?"

"How did I find out?" Mats arched an eyebrow. "Well... You was so sure when you said that Julian doesn't like Benni, but when I asked why you're sure, you couldn't come up with a proper answer, so you're keeping a secret from me!"

"So I stopped to think of everything that happened so far and... Julian wouldn't share a room with you for no reason, that is, if he wanted Benni his best chance would be keep sharing a room with Benni! So that means he really wanted to share a room with you, which only makes sense if you're together, obviously. So when he went to change rooms probably only had double rooms available, so I'm in that situation."

"And you and Julian are very close lately, I mean, I almost didn't see you with André! At breakfast you're with Julian, at training you're with Julian, at lunch and at dinner you're with Julian... Even... That day, when someone stole my clothes and Julian forgot his cell phone... You was with him! Benni called your cell phone and Julian was with you!"

"Other than that I saw how you was when Benni hugged Julian just a little while ago...  Was you really jealous of him, uh?" Mats laughed. "And Julian was calming you down? How cute! And sorry I interrupted your moment... I wasn't thinking straight... "

Mats smiled awkwardly from his behavior, but Marco was too shocked to even think about it.

Incredibly Mats gave the perfect excuse for Marco! With Hummels thinking that Julian and he are together and with Benni never distrusting his oh so dear Julian, the two would be free of suspicion in any and every plan! Perfect!!

Marco smirked, ready to confirm Mats' story, but before he opened his mouth he thought of Julian. This wouldn't only affect Marco's life, but Julian's as well. They would have to pretend to be together for, uh, at least Mats. Besides the story obviously can't get to Benni... Julian has panic attacks just thinking of disappointing Benni! Not that dating Marco is a deception, but he had the vague impression that Benni is that kind of ' _father_ ' who believes his ' _son_ ' is pure.

He sighed. Ugh, why did things have to be so difficult? And why was he caring about how a simple rumor was going to affect Draxler's life?

"Marco?" Mats called quietly, one eyebrow arched.

Marco took a deep breath, weighed the pros and cons, mentally cursed his mind for not thinking about something better and said,

"You can't tell Benni..."

xXx

Marco entered the room as quietly as possible, not that it made any difference, since Julian was awake and looked at the door as soon as the blond opened it, but still he had a plan and he hoped that everything would happen as planned.

"How was the conversation with Mats?" Julian asked as he watched Marco look for some clothes in his suitcase.

"It was good," he murmured, and even if he had not seen, he was sure that Julian raised an eyebrow at the answer.

"Good?" The curious and even half-ironic tone in the other's voice only made Marco's theory be confirm. "Strange... Mats looked pretty hostile earlier."

"Hostile?"

"Yeah, for a moment I thought he might have figured out our plan!"

Reus tensed automatically and he knew Julian had noticed. He picked up clean clothes from his suitcase, stood up and goes toward the bathroom.

"He found out, didn't he?" Julian murmured.

Marco sighed and finally decided to face Julian. "Yeah, he found out, but incredibly put all the blame on you."

"On me? You're the evil mind of this operation!" The brunet snorted, folding his arms. "You mislead him, right?"

"Yeah..." He leaned against the bathroom door.

"Yeah?" The other raised an eyebrow.

"Mats mislead himself." Marco shrugged.

"What? How?"

He sighed. Now or never. "He thinks we're dating."

Julian's face was priceless, but as much as Marco wanted to laugh, he knew that any sound like a laugh would cause his death.

"You denied it, didn't you?" Julian asked his voice full of despair. "Reus?? Did you deny it?"

Marco sighed. "No."

And before the other could say anything, Marco entered the bathroom.

It seemed kinda bad to let Julian talk to himself, but he didn't have patience to deal with his panic (and probably anger) attacks now. He needed a good shower to cool his head and renew his energies. And then he could go back and explain to Draxler everything that had happened and how that was the best option available.

For now Julian would have to get used to the idea of dating Marco by himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, we are on middle of the story /o/ Only 3 chapters to go... And hopefully they will be made soon enough n.n
> 
> Funny Fact: This was supposed to be the shortest chapter... Seems like the more I delay the update, more the story grows up...
> 
> Uh, well I hope you enjoy this chapter and look forward to next plan... It will have an amazing special guest haha'
> 
> Kissus and see ya *3*

**Author's Note:**

> Good news? Next chapter is ready :D
> 
> Kissus and see ya o/


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